Flash
by starkidklainer
Summary: Chris is puzzled as to why Darren insists on always taking photos and filming things wherever they go. The reason behind it isn't as simple as Chris first expected. CrissColfer. Angst.


**So this is a short little oneshot I wrote. It's mostly angst with a little CrissColfer mixed in there. I had to put in under the Kurt/Blaine characters because, well, there isn't Darren/Chris is there? So here it is, enjoy!**

**Flash**

* * *

><p>It was yet another conference, yet another meet and greet and yet another cheering, screaming crowd. Certainly nothing they hadn't seen before. That's why Chris couldn't understand why Darren still had his camera out and was clicking away, taking pictures of everything and anything that surrounded them. He watched as Darren as the shorter man pointed his camera in all directions, a look of pure enjoyment on his face.<p>

Flash. One shot.

Flash. Another.

Flash, flash, flash.

He never stopped.

Chris watched in awe as Darren jogged a bit ahead from the rest of the cast, taking pictures of them all as they walked back to their mode of transport.

"Alrighty everyone, smile!" He announced, he himself grinning from ear to ear.

Everyone smiled back, Mike giving Heather bunny ears before she noticed and slapped his hand away playfully. It was the perfect shot. Everyone was happy and smiling and enjoying themselves. Darren still remained the most excited out of all of them though. Even after all this time, after all the things they've done, nothing ever fails to make him seem like he's the happiest man alive.

It made Chris happy, to see him happy.

After they'd all settled themselves back on their Glee bus and begun their trip to their next destination, Chris was brushing his teeth, thinking he was the only one still awake when he heard a small chuckle coming from towards the front of the bus. Of course, Darren as still awake wasn't he? Chris was sure that man never slept.

After making sure his teeth were perfectly clean, Chris crept towards where he could hear Darren still laughing quietly to himself, camera in hand. Darren still hadn't noticed him, so Chris stood there silently for a few more moments, simply appreciating how _happy_ Darren looked. He was always so happy..

"Hey," Chris whispered, finally walking forwards and sitting down next to Darren, his hands clasped in his lap.

Darren looked up from his camera in surprise, he had obviously not noticed Chris's gradual arrival.

"Oh, hey! I thought you were asleep," Darren replied, looking back to his camera and scrolling through some more photos.

He stopped at the group shot he had taken today and held the camera towards Chris.

"Look at this one! Isn't it great?" Darren asked, eyes wide awake and full of a kind of childish wonder.

Chris couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, it's really good," Chris said, taking one quick look at the picture before looking back up to Darren's face, still alight with joy.

"Oh, oh and look at this one!" Darren was practically bouncing in his seat.

Chris looked at the camera again to see another shot of Lea and Diana laughing together about something they'd obviously seen or heard. This photo was dated to be about three weeks old.

"Yes, Darren, it's lovely. You know, you should really be going to bed now, everyone else is already asleep."

"But I still have 73 photos to look at!"

"Darren, you took those the other week! You can't have forgotten them already! Anyway, I'm sure they'll still be there in the morning, now come on," Chris exclaimed, a little puzzled as to why Darren was so desperate to look at these photos he'd surely already seen multiple times.

Darren's face turned horribly sad for a fleeting moment, before changing to an expression of resignation.

"Alright…" Darren said, sounding defeated.

He stood up and trudged to his bunk, flopping face down onto it still fully clothed.

Chris sighed. "Darren, don't be like that! I just think you should get some sleep, that's all!"

Darren's face remained buried in his pillow.

Chris walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on Darren's shoulder. Darren flinched at the touch but didn't roll over.

Chris groaned. "Darren please! Will you look at me?"

No movement.

Chris leaned down so that his lips were right next to Darren's right ear.

"Darren," he whispered, "Please look at me."

He pulled away and a few second later, Darren turned over. He lay there, his colourful eyes staring up into Chris's and he sighed.

"I'm sorry Chris. Just…don't worry. I'm going to bed now. I'll see you in the morning."

Darren stood up, grabbed his bag and walked into the toilet, closing the door without looking back.

Chris, instead of going to his own bed, just waited. And waited. And waited some more until finally Darren emerged from the toilet wearing his pyjamas and stopped dead in the doorway.

"What took you so long?" Chris asked with a sly smile.

"Nothing," Darren replied shortly, his earlier cheerfulness gone.

"Hey, don't get grumpy with me," Chris said, though he wasn't really offended, "I was being nice!"

"You should be sleeping," Darren said, though his words seemed slightly slurred.

Darren began to walk towards his bed but had to pause for a moment when he stumbled slightly. He waited for a few moments before advancing further but sunk to his knees after a few steps, his head falling into his hands.

"Darren!" Chris exclaimed as his friend went down, moving quickly over to him and helping him back up off the floor.

Darren was swaying on his feet, leaning on Chris for support.

"I'm fine," He managed, "Just…I'm just a little dizzy."

Chris's face took on an expression of concern as he helped Darren over to his bed, the shorter man's feet occasionally dragging on the ground. When they reached their destination, Darren fumbled around in his bag before producing a small bottle of pills, which he opened before promptly popping one into his mouth and swallowing it immediately. Chris couldn't read the label, but that wasn't his main concern at the moment. Why did Darren have these mysterious pills in the first place?

"Darren?" Chris said softly.

Darren had his head in his hands again, and when he moved them away from his face Chris could see that his eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Darren tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a broken sob. "I guess I can't just tell you not to worry about it, huh?"

"Not a chance."

"Fine, but…if I tell you, you have to promise not to tell any of the others."

"Darren…"

"No, Chris. You have to promise."

Chris looked into Darren's eyes, searching for something, anything, to tell him why Darren had been hiding something that was obviously important from him.

"Fine, I won't tell."

Darren looked into Chris's breathtaking eyes for a few more seconds, before looking away and blinking rapidly. If he was going to tell Chris, then he can't cry. He had to be strong. He didn't want Chris pitying him.

"I…I have something called Vascular Dementia."

Chris gasped, his hand flying to cover his mouth.

"I don't remember things, and, well, it's gradually getting worse. It used to be only little things that I would forget, like what I had for dinner the night before or something, but now, now I just forget a lot of things," Darren continued, avoiding Chris's gaze.

Chris listened without interrupting; he wanted to hear everything Darren had to say.

"It's not very common for someone as young as me to have it but…I have this other thing too, I forget the name, but my blood vessels are smaller than normal people's so that does something that causes my memory loss. See, I should know more about this…but…I've forgotten. I get so damn confused sometimes," Darren finally broke down at this point, his body shaking and tears making their way down his cheeks, "And it's so hard. But I don't want anyone to worry about me, Chris. That's why I didn't tell you. I don't want you or anyone else to feel sorry for me whenever I forget some lyrics, even when they're my own."

Chris spoke up. "But, Darren, you have this medication. You're getting help, so it'll all be okay, right?"

Darren finally looked at him. "There's no cure yet. I have to take these, but they're for Alzheimer's disease, and they only help a little."

Darren was going through the pictures in his camera again, stopping when he came to one of him and Chris, arms around each other's shoulders and big, cheesy grins on their faces.

"That's why it's so important for me to have all these pictures, Chris. I want to have something to hold on to. I want to be able to look back on these and know that I was happy, that I had friends and that I had a good life. I don't want to forget you, I don't, but sometimes…sometimes I think it'd be easier if I didn't remember either."

Chris's eyes were as wet and as red as Darren's were now and he wiped away both their tears. He held both Darren's shaking hands in his own and squeezed them tight.

"I don't want to forget you, Chris," Darren whispered.

Well, Chris hadn't been expecting that. He can't say he wasn't touched though, Darren had always held a place in his heart.

"Well, Darren, I promise you won't have to," Chris said, squeezing Darren's hand even tighter.

"Huh?"

"I'm always going to be here for you. Always. I'll never leave you, and I'm going to help you."

And before he knew what he was doing, Chris leaned forward and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to Darren's trembling lips.

"But…I'll forget," Darren breathed after they had parted.

"Then I'll help you remember."

And with that, Chris saw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Darren smiled with such complete, utter joy, such bliss, such delight, such _glee_ that Chris's heart swelled with happiness so he thought it would burst out of his chest at any moment.

Everything was going to be okay, for now.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews make my happy!<strong>


End file.
